Where have we been? - everywhere!!!!!

Wow, summer seems to fly by and just when I look up to catch my breath it's almost over!! And this poor, neglected blog has been growing spider webs!! :) Well, where do I start...it's been a busy summer!!! This will be a LONG post - be prepared! And, I haven't spent the time editing pics because I just don't have time...you'd never get to see all this if I spent two more hours changing the lighting and sharpening everything!! It would be next summer before I'd get around to it!! :) :)

Summer started with a little day trip to my parents property on the coast. They have a parcel of land on the Siletz river just south of Lincoln City. It's super quiet and relaxing, so I took the kids for the day while daddy was on an extreme mountain bike retreat with some guys at church. We never put the boat in the water, but as you can see, the kids had a grand ol' time with Mimi in the boat anyway! And, my dad brought my grandma's golf cart over there so we took numerous rides in the golf cart down the road and back!! By the end of the day Easton was so tired and asking, "Home?!" So, I put a movie in and hit the road...it was a good day!

Raquelle reading to Jordan and Easton in my mom's trailer

Raquelle caught a BIG ol' fish!! Silly mimi!

The next activity included spending MANY hours finishing our fence!! In fact, we are still working on it. Today we finished the posts and railings on the garage side, and tomorrow we should be DONE!! Except some staining. It feels so good to have such a huge project almost complete!! Sorry...no good pics of the fence yet...you'll have to come by and see it for yourself! :)
We also tore off both back decks and have yet to figure out what we're going to do to replace them!! :) We thought we'd just put new decks back on, but our yard got really big not having big ol' decks sticking out...so, we're thinking maybe we'll put a patio out there instead. Stay tuned to that! :)

Fourth of July was spent playing games and lighting off smoke bombs with the Strauss Family!! Ben tried lighting the neighbors house on fire with a smoke bomb...but, it didn't work - fortunately!! :) Here is us in the back of the van finding shelter from the stinky fire works.
Nice shirt Ben...fits with the 4th of July theme! :) I actually just noticed that as I was uploading this picture! Wow, I'm observant...I guess I didn't look at him that day! :) HA!

Having Ben home for the summer is SUCH a spoiler for me!!! I feel like I have so much time to run errands, check email, etc. I can leave during nap time and get some things done...it's SO nice...and wierd, because I know it's rapidly coming to an end. Everyday feels like Saturday around here. I LOVE it! That's why we've been a bit anti-social this summer...I just love hang'n with my family!! Here's a few pics of our typical morning around the house...reading, playing and hang'n!!

My poser! :) I just LOVE her!! She has SO many faces!!!
Next on the agenda was spending five days with my side of the family at Eagle Crest!! Jared (my br0) and his wife/family came up from Arizona to hang out. Our kids got to play with their cousins whom they hadn't seen in over a year and a half!! They are the cutest kids...Ethan is SO lovable, so cuddly and just all boy!! And Brady is a little stud...super sweet and has THE BEST laugh ever!!! We spent lots of time at the pool and a morning at Smith Rock..it was BEAUTIFUL!!

Our morning at Smith Rock - but we were missing Todd, Stacie and Jordan!! :(

Love the sun...bright sunny spot here!! :) - a little too bright for pics, but oh well! :)
Here's a set of Ethan and Raquelle lov'n on each other!! He is SUCH a hugger, I love it! They were two peas in a pod...and then, the hug got bigger and bigger....
A super sweet moment I secretly caught behind the door! Raquelle was reading to Easton right before bed!!

Jordan is the sweetest baby alive!! And has the best high pitched happy scream ever! - well, maybe he's a close second to my sweet niece Kendra...wow, she had quite the scream on her too!
My Aunt Danielle and Uncle Bill flew up from California to join us at Eagle Crest for a few days!! It was so wonderful seeing them...I think it had been three years since I had seen them last!! It was such a great trip, and so good to see all my family together!! I only wish I would have taken more pics!!!

After Eagle Crest we hunkered down here at home to continue burning some serious calories on the yard!! LOTS of work!!

I have been able to make a few more cakes lately! I am loving it soo much!! I have another one I'm doing in Sept. and an auction I'm taking part in around November. It's going to stay a hobby because I really want to keep my kids number one!! I could get carried away with it, so I'm thinking I'll be sticking to the one cake a month rule (well, unless my honey approves something further)! :) If you haven't checked out my cake blog in a while, here it is: Jessicakes - and here is my most recent cake:

Raquelle's MOST favorite thing she has done this summer was spending time with Nana and Pops in Reedsport! She got special treatment for three days just being spoiled rotten!!!
Cook'n with Nana!! YUM!

Shoot'n guns with Pops!! Yes, we allow it! :)
Roasting wieners at the fire pit
And an extra special treatment with Nana - a day at the beauty salon!!
Oh we have the best grandparents in the world!! Thank you Nana and Pops for treating our princess like a princess!!

All throughout summer we've had Raquelle enrolled in T-ball and Karate. It's been so fun to see her grow, learn and love aspects of these sports. Her favorite has been T-ball, which is SO fun, because I played softball for 9 years growing up!! Maybe she'll keep up with it. Here she is on the orange team and with her favorite coach!!




Easton got a little playing time in too when the kids were distracted...


Aunt Kay came up one day when Nana brought Raquelle back from her princess retreat! :)

Wow, I'm realizing this has been a fun summer for Raquelle! :) Sorry Easton! I'm sure he isn't lacking on fun though, it just seems like this summer Raquelle has gotten to do some extra special things!! One other things she got to do was a whole week of Vacation Bible School at the church next door to us! OH MY GOODNESS, it was SUCH a great program and she just had a BALL! She still talks about doing it next year and how much fun she had!! So, we'll be heading back there again!! Here she is on her first day and with one of the little helpers she really liked, "Miss Blueberry!" Sooo cute!! :)

Easton and I got lots of mommy, son, daddy time, so I guess that's being spoiled too! It was great just spending time with our son while Raquelle was out and about this summer. Here we are on a play structure in Wilsonville having a ball!

And, to cap off a perfect summer was Cuzn's Camp! We just got home on Tuesday after spending five days in Reedport camping at Nana and Pop's house with all Ben's cousins/family. We got to stay in the trailer, so I was EXTRA happy!! :) It was so fun just hang'n out and eating and eating and eating! I noticed today I keep adjusting my pants...I think I brought a few pounds home with me! But it was worth it!! I just love the Harris family and feel SO blessed to be apart of their lives!!
Papa came out for an evening to have dinner with all of us. It was SO good to spend some time with him!! Here he is with all his great grandkids on his lap giggling and laughing!! Such a sweet moment!!
We all shared meals to help out with not over packing food!! Levi and Ashley brought clams and then he BBQ'd some tuna...it was amazing! - and I don't even like clams! But I had one, and Levi, they were good! :)

Here is Ben reading my sweet niece a Cinderella story! :)
I love this series of Easton! I had like four more pics but figured this was good enough for you to see this little "Cuteness shoulder" he does! I'll sometimes say, "Let me see your happy face!" And he'll do this too! He has 1000 faces just like his sister!!! It's amazing how similar they are! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!


Oh man does he love trucks!!
Bubble time with daddy! Thanks Nana for the bubbles!!!
This series of Easton was cracking us up! He had this little truck that he loved and kept smashing his face up against the side door saying "Hi mommy! Hi daddy!" Then after a bit he'd drive the truck off the edge of the deck and start cracking up soo hard!! I guess he thought it was funny for mommy and daddy to drive off the cliff!! :)
Cuzn's camp was a blast!! Thank you Lord for this amazing family and for all the wonderful memories we've made this summer!! We truly are blessed and feel soo thankful that the Lord pours His grace upon our family!! We love you Jesus!!!

A few videos of Cuzn's camp to leave you with:
Big daddy on a little bike:

The kids singing and performing: